PM puts her best foot forward at hectic UN
Political reporter Derek Cheng spent a few days following Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as she rubbed shoulders with the world’s most powerful in New York
Monday (NZT)
Ardern lands in New York and is expected to make an announcement this week cracking down on social media, but is not opposed to using it herself. In a Facebook live video, Ardern walks to the UN building to meet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
“I’m told New York really locks down during leaders’ week, [with] people with quite large motorcades, like the President of the US, moving around. I always opt for walking. Got my walking shoes on.”
After a stand-up with New Zealand media, she promptly changes her formal footwear back to her walking shoes before departing to get some shut-eye before her big day tomorrow.
Tuesday
It’s a huge day for the PM. She has meetings with Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, and speeches on climate change.
Following a tech roundtable, she announces that social media giants will join forces in the fight against extremism, and have a framework to follow when urgent action is needed to take down online terrorist or violent extremist content.
Facebook's 2IC Sheryl Sandberg joins Ardern at the press conference.. That evening, a story I’ve written for the Herald website about the PM’s meeting with Trump is tweeted out by Trump himself.
Newstalk ZB requests an interview, and, under a barrage of flattery, I consent.
Wednesday
We arrive at the UN General Assembly early to watch Trump’s speech, which was so full of fire and fury that it apparently put 81-year-old Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to sleep.
Later when Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen arrives at the NZ Residence for a bilateral, a member of the New Zealand team tells her that he saw her at a restaurant recently and stared at her for perhaps longer than he
should have, trying to recall who she was.
This prompts Ardern to assure her that none of her staff are wierdos.
In the evening Ardern gives a speech at a celebration of Gandhi’s 150th birthday, and is photographed with other people touching a blue orb.
Efforts to learn what the orb represents or why they were touching it have been unsuccessful.
Ardern finishes the evening delivering New Zealand’s national statement to the UN General Assembly, calling for collaboration and drawing on the lessons of March 15.
Afterwards media are told about a mystery event for the PM the next evening. Questions about whether it relates to the orb are
not thoroughly answered, raising suspicions.
Thursday
At Goalkeepers 2019, hosted by the Gates Foundation, Ardern’s speech about the Wellbeing Budget provokes a single, lone cheer from the audience. This leads to a “thank you” from Ardern.
She is somewhat upstaged by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose pledge of €100 million to the Global Fund triggers rapturous applause.
We head to the Bloomberg Global Business Forum, where Ardern takes the stage with, among others, Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam for a discussion on trade and climate change.
When Thiam is asked why he doesn’t push to cut fossil fuel subsidies, there’s an awkward pause that Ardern eventually fills by saying: “Go on”.
Back at the UN, she announces a new trade negotiation to cut tariffs on climate change-related technology and eliminate fossil fuel subsidies.
There are only four other countries signing up, but Ardern says it’s only the beginning and the small number is not an indication of the scale of their ambition.
Afterwards the mystery event turns out to be a special guest appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
After the show, Ardern has a final bilateral with the PM of India.
The PM is due to fly out the next morning after a hectic schedule that included 18 bilaterals, nine speeches, two major announcements, two US media appearances and one press conference.